Heatwave conditions likely to continue for 3 more days in state

PTI, Kolkata, Jun 8, 2023 :  Heatwave conditions prevailing in some parts of West Bengal for over a week are likely to continue for another three days, the Met department said on Thursday.

The Met department, in its forecast, said that the heatwave conditions are likely to prevail in isolated pockets of Gangetic West Bengal till June 11 and in sub-Himalayan West Bengal till June 10.

A faint ray of hope was given by the weather office of a respite from the sizzling temperatures, which have been hovering around or above 40 degree Celsius at many places in the southern part of the state, with the possibility of thunderstorms with lightning at isolated places.

The sub-Himalayan districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar are likely to experience heavy rainfall from June 11, the Met office said.

The weather office said that heatwave conditions prevailed at some places in Gangetic West Bengal and at isolated places in sub-Himalayan West Bengal for nine consecutive days till Thursday.

Day temperatures were appreciably above normal, from 3 degrees Celsius to 5 degrees Celsius, at most places in the state.

Even during the night, people did not find any relief from the heat and humidity as minimum temperatures were also much above normal from 3.1 degrees Celsius to 5 degrees Celsius, it said.

While summer holidays are on in government-run and -aided schools, some private schools have started only classes to provide the students respite from travelling under the scorching sun.

The Himalayan tourist towns of Kalimpong and Darjeeling were also feeling the heat with the mercury touching 29 degrees C and 24.6 degrees C respectively.

The southwest monsoon is likely to advance into some parts of the northeastern states within another two days, the weatherman said.

It forecast heavy rainfall in Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura from Thursday and in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya from Friday.